Thief To Be
by Nixter97
Summary: *SEQUEL TO "Son of a Thief"* Five years later, young Benjamin Cooper is turning eight, and is inheriting the Thievious Raccoonus. Sly, who's set and ready to teach his son the family tradition, has to put all plans on hold, once he discovers that he was framed for a crime that he didn't commence: stealing from a dangerous terrorist leader.
1. Turning Eight

**Here we are, everybody- the SEQUEL to "Son of a Thief"! XD**

**This time, I plan to be more cautious about updates. I promise you that for this sequel. Plus, this sequel might be a tad-bit shorter than "Son of a Thief", which should've make updates so difficult.**

**Well, let's not waste any time here!**

**As a Happy New Year gift, I give to you guys the sequel to "Son of a Thief"...**

**Enjoy,**

**~Nixter97~**

* * *

**Thief To Be**

**Chapter 1: Turning Eight**

A plane is seen flying through the clouds in 30,000 feet in the air. Inside was staff, and flying in first class was a penguin. He was a member of the "Thief Conceal", which was a government for thieves in a secret underground city that could be found almost anywhere in the world. Right now, the plan was taking flight to one of the many secret locations for one of these conceal meetings.

"Excuse me, Mister Frost, sir," Says a female bear, who was entering first class. "But this plane is about to land."

A brief sigh comes from behind a book. Behind that book was one of the conceal members, Pep Frost. He lowers the book that was in his hands and nodded slightly.

"Very well," He says. "Have us land at once. I cannot stay in Egypt for too long- oh how I just loath this- this damn heat."

"Very well, sir." She says, exiting first class.

The plane makes its landing near one of the pyramids, and Pep Frost, followed by some of his body guards, makes their entrance into the large structure, going lower into the catacombs bellow. Once inside, now entering a room that was on the lowest level of the whole structure, a long table, gathered by six other conceal members sat. Pep nodded at them all; they nodded back.

Pep Frost stakes his seat by a monkey.

"Ladies and gentlemen- heads of the conceal from each of the seven continents...glade you all could make it." Says a voice.

Everyone turns and sits up, showing respect for the one who was entering the room.

Entering the room was a large centipede, wearing a suit and tie. His eight arms that weren't used for walking were folding behind his back. He looked at all of his conceal members with a satisfying, yet cold-dead, look. He nods at them, and the bow their heads slightly as they all then take their seats once more. The centipede then takes a seat at the head of the table, in front of a crackling fire from behind his large chair.

"This meeting shall now go into order," Says the centipede. "As we all know, the City of Thieves has been a secret for some time now- to those thieves who are both good and prime evil. It is our job, as I recall, that we all must keep our city a secret. Apparently, some thief last week hadn't read the rules more closely...and almost exposed our city's existence to parts of Asia. Pitty that he got executed before he could do anything stupid..."

"Because we had to!" Exclaims a bald eagle. "He would've had gotten us all caught and under arrest."

"Very good, Mister Brown!" The centipede says; showing approval and proudness. "And...who was the last person to do that?"

In a soft voice, a female whispers, "...Connor Cooper...followed by Sly and Conway Cooper, sir..."

"Come again?" The centipede asked, cocking his head over towards the quiet female.

"The Coopers, sir." She repeats louder.

The centipede grins venomously.

"Oh, come now, my dear, surly you can be more specific than that. The whole damn original members of the Cooper Gang today has exposed us to newbies. Two of them being ex-Interpol officers, as I may recall."

"What does it matter, sir?" Asked the monkey that was sitting next to Pep. "If they're ex-Interpol officers, then we shouldn't take action, yes?"

The centipede snaps his head over towards the monkey, glaring at him with a sickening gaze. Slowly, the large centipede strolls over towards the mammal. His many insect legs could be heard, echoing throughout the entire room, due to the stoned ground. The sound alone could put anybody into a fright, since the sound brought up a shivering sensation to their spines.

Now looming over the monkey, the centipede asked, "What does it matter?" His facial features turned from no emotion to sudden anger in a sudden movement in seconds. He looms closer, frightening the mammal. "What does it matter?" He repeats.

"I'll tell you- all of you- damn well why the hell it matters!" He says, now making his way back to his chair, turning around to face his conceal members.

"Without getting notified and approved about newcomers (or new relatives to the thief) before they show to them our underground city, it's defined as a crime- treason! That's what-" He turns back to the monkey, glaring at him "...Matters..." He breaths out.

"So...what are we gonna do?" Asked Pep.

"Glade you've asked," He says to him. "For an act of treason, I can't just execute them like the last guy. As punishment, I've arranged something...more special. The government is starting to get a little suspicious of my actions towards the rules- as you all may know - I'm a fern enforcer of the rules. With an act of treason like that- and to more than one person...I must take action."

"Not to mention that you also happen to hate the Coopers, President Haze." Retorts on of the consular members.

President Haze gives his fellow follower a glare that quickly made the owner of the voice to shut up. But it was true; President Haze- leader of the City of Thieves hated the Coopers- every single bit of them. They've always been on top, and had always been able to take down "the best" as well. Haze was one of the very best, which was one of the prime reasons why he was elected for the president of the City of Thieves.

"I see..." Grinned a female peacock. "So what's the plan?"

"Oh, my dear..." Haze says darkly while turning towards her. "Someone has volunteered to do the job for us; sparing us the trouble so that we can just go on with our duties without raising suspicion."

"But who?" Asked another conceal member.

President Haze's wicked grin, all sorts of nasty sickness, opened up as he replies, "An old friend..."

* * *

_**~Paris, France- Cooper Mansion~**_

Five years ago, Sly Cooper- notorious thief - has found out that he was the father of a certain little foxcoon by the name of Benjamin. At three years old, Benjamin was harassed by all, for no one had ever seen a hybrid roaming around. It made Benjamin upset, and his parents displeased- displeased to know that people were judging him because of his looks. But that was five years ago...

Now, Benjamin is turning eight years old! Last night, the little boy was too excited and hyper to go to bed, for he wanted to help get his birthday party started early. But his parents had told him that he'll just have to wait until the morning. It was hard, but it was also worth it.

To Sly, it was just so crazy. His little boy was turning eight! Now that he was going to be eight today, he was going to give him the greatest gift that a young Cooper could ever get- the Thievious Raccoonus. Once a Cooper turns eight, they inherit the book, and this time was Ben's turn to be gifted with the legendary book. Even though the small boy had already read it- alone and with this father - like, more than what seemed like 100 times, Sly was certain he'll still love to keep it.

Over the past five years, life for the gang has been great.

Just like Sly, Carmelita has been swell. Once Jasmine had turned three years old, Carmelita had given birth to quadruplets- a little fox girl named Carmon, a raccoon girl named Jennissy, a boy brown raccoon named Cody, and a grey raccoon named Josh. Its been a tough situation, but everyone has been getting use into having four infants in the house.

Conway and Serena is still happily married, Gabriel has been doing well too. Just like Jasmine, he is now four years old, and is starting to get excited to learn more about the Cooper Clan. Conway had explained some things to him a few times, but unlike Ben, Gabriel seems to not be catching up too well. Some stuff he was getting, but the rest of it, he was still having some trouble understanding the concepts of Cooper lore.

Bentley, sadly...was heartbroken. About a few months after the situation with Terakhir five years back, Penelope has been reveled to have betrayed the Cooper Gang. She was working for Le Paradox the whole time, which made Bentley depressed. Even though he never showed it, the others still knew that deep down, Bentley missed having Penelope around- especially in his heart.

Murray has been doing good himself. After the Terakhir business, he found himself a "lady friend". Her name is Janet- an aqua hippo who had strawberry-blond hair that curved up on the end on her hair, wore a pink dress with a white belt, and wore white high-heels. She seemed like a very sweet girl, and everyone was so found of her to move in with the Cooper Gang (much to Murray's suggestion).

Rebecca and Danny have been living in Venice, Italy since Terakhir has been dealt with, and news of them bearing a baby girl has brought joy to the gang; congratulating them once they heard. The proud parents have named their daughter Cheyenne. She was a hybrid as well- part raccoon and cat (a catcoon). Her main fur coat was black (much like Danny's shade), had grey rings in her tail (a trait developed from Rebecca), white trims on her hands (a trait developed from Danny), blue eyes, white tips on the top of her ears, and had a grey raccoon mask around her eyes.

Speaking of close friends, Conner had finally returned to Russia after the fiasco five years ago was over. He and the gang were still in touch from time-to-time, but nothing new was really going on. Well, Sasha was going to turn eight in a couple weeks after Ben, but that was about it. Conner wished that he could've come back to Paris and help Sly celebrate his son's eight birthday, but couldn't due to his wife needing some help around the house lately. After getting some back surgery after a slight accident while walking through the frosted streets, Conner needed to make sure that his wife was in good care. Still, not wanting to upset his friends in Paris, he mailed a package to France, where Sly was able to retrieve.

Dimitri was...how you say...doing "groovy". He'd been hitting the nightclubs nonstop since Terakhir had been dealt with. It's been a "celebration" for a long mission well-done. He's just been taking the whole thing as a "vacation".

It was afternoon, and Ben was running around in the large backyard, where is siblings, cousin, and newly found friend, Bella, was playing at. Bella's mother was there with her daughter, of course. She'd gotten use to spending time with the gang while the kids were running around, playing outside. Sly, Conway, and Murray were outside too, watching the little trouble makers.

Right now, a certain vixen and wolf was working on putting Benjamin's birthday cake together while Janet and Bella's mother, Rachel, was getting the lunch set up. In the living room was Carmelita's parents (Tony and Morgan). The elders were watching TV, talking, and watching as the four new babies were sleeping in a playpen, all cuddled up on top of each other like a small stack of stuffed animals. It was a very adorable sight, even when they squirmed around and cried softly with their little yawns.

Carmelita sighed with a grin of victory on her face, gazing at the huge accomplishment that was Benjamin's birthday cake. It was three layers high, colored with icing that was the same as Ben's fur color, black trims, and a big number eight candle on top, in the center, of the third small layer.

"Finally," She breaths while putting the bowl of icing on the table. "We're done."

"Yeah," Serena agreed.

The two females, now warn out from all the baking, flops down onto two chairs. It was a pain to get the cake done, but it was all worth it. Serena gasped, taking a closer look at the cake. Carmelita notices her actions and lifts her head up, raising an eyebrow with curiosity.

"What?" She asked.

"We've forgotten a spot for the icing..." Serena says.

Carmelita leans forward, taking a glance at the cake. She shakes her head in disbelieve; she says, "What? I don't see a-"

"Gotcha!" Serena exclaimed, dipping her finger into the icing bowl and splats the vixen's nose with the orange, surgery substance.

Carmelita groaned as she takes a wet paper towel and wipes her face off. Serena is sitting on her chair, laughing while pointing at Carmelita. It was funny to mess with the vixen sometimes- everyone knew that. They all rarely did it, but every time that someone does, she always seems to fall for it. By this rate, you'd think that Carmelita was going to know when something was heading her way, what kind of prank was going to be brought upon her.

"Seriously, Serena?" Carmelita asked annoyed while throwing the paper towel away.

Serena shrugged. "I thought I'd be funny, that's all. And besides, I have a right, you know. May I remind you about New Years, when you've gotten orange juice on me by jump-scaring me with a "Happy New Year" good morning in the kitchen?" She said with a smirk.

Carmelita smirked back, saying, "Okay...I guess you have a right..."

"Now we're even," Serena grinned, getting up to go outside.

Just as Serena opens the door, Benjamin runs in, laughing while being chased by Sly. Carmelita watches as the two run around the whole house. Both father and son laugh while running through the many large rooms in the entire mansion. Carmelita felt a spark of joy within her, because if it wasn't for her, then Sly would have never met his son, Ben would never had met his father, and they wouldn't be together now, as a family.

"Mommy!" Benjamin says running into the kitchen with Sly behind him. "Is that my cake?" He asked with awe, looking at the cake that seemed to look bigger than what he was.

Carmelita nods, her red lips curved into a large, motherly smile. She scoops her little boy up and kisses his cheeks.

"Yes, baby, this your cake." She said smiling.

Benjamin, not liking being called "baby" crosses his arms and gives his mother a rather irritated look.

"Mom! I'm not a baby! I'm eight- starting today!" He complained.

Both parents laughed and rubbed the boy's head. They kiss their son on both if his cheeks as they were in their little embrace.

"Okay, Benny, you've made your point." Carmelita says. "Now why don't you go run off and play for a while longer. Just before lunch, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy!" Ben says happily has he's put down, now running back outside to play some more.

Sly wraps his arms around Carmelita and pulls her into a lovely embrace, followed by a passionate kiss. It was amazing to know that it's been five whole years of them being together like this. Not just lovers, or parents, or thieves. But as husband and wife. Sly had always dreamt of him having his lovely vixen all to himself one day, and now he's got her with him in his life; forever. But she wasn't just his, she was also his children's. Their children's. They were all together as a family, and that's all he could ever had wanted.

"Crazy, isn't it, Carm?" He asked in a soft whisper into his vixen's ear. "Our little Benny-Boy is turning eight today!"

Carmelita giggled at the excitement shown in her husband's voice. It was true, though, that Sly Cooper had awaited for this day- the day when their son turns eight years old. Once every Cooper turns eight, they get the Thievious Raccoonus, and Sly was just as excited as anyone else was. Finally, a new generation was finally beginning for the Cooper Clan. Well, the second part of the "new generation", anyway. The birth of a Cooper is the first part to it all, but the eight birthday was the second.

"It is, Mi Amour!" Carmelita exclaimed with happiness. "And I just can't wait for later, after lunch."

"Oh, you're gonna love lunch, Carm!" Says a cherry voice.

Both Sly and Carmelita turns to see Janet, fixing up some hamburger meat. She walks over towards the stove and starts to set the patties onto the grill.

"I'm a skilled cook, after all. Trust me, you'll all just love my hamburgers!" Janet sung with glee.

"I'm sure they'll love them," Rachel nodded with agreement, getting the salad ready. "I'm also pretty sure they you all will enjoy my salad."

"All of it sounds divine," Carmelita reassures, getting a glass of lemonade before strolling outside.

Taking a seat at the kitchen table, Sly turns to Janet and asks, "Say, Janet...how are you and Murray doing? Been seeing you guys leaving the mansion quiet a bit lately."

"We're doing fine, Sly, thanks for asking." Janet replied with a smile. "Murray and I are so happy together. We've just been going out, going to go see some...well...shows with the money that we've been saving up from the last bank heist, that's all."

"Oh?" Sly wondered. "What kind of shows?"

"You know...boxing...monster trucks...wrestling...we both love it."

Sly smiled.

"That's great! Man, you guys do seem like a great couple. Hope you two last."

"So do I, Sly." Janet says; smiling while thinking about her and Murray.

Just around the corner, by the basement door, Bentley looked gloomy. He makes a face of slight disgust and annoyance; people talking about love around him made him quiet antisocial. Bentley never showed it to anyone, only when he's alone, but he just misses Penelope. Sometimes, Bentley would wonder how she was doing...But that didn't really matter anymore. Penelope had gone evil, and there was probably no way into bringing her back.

Bentley wheels himself into the kitchen to get a drink of water. Sly looks towards his friend's direction and smiles.

"Hey Bent," Sly says. "How you doing?"

"Fine," Bentley says. "Just getting a drink of water, that's all. When's lunch and all of that?"

Sly looks over his shoulder to look at the clock that's against the wall right behind him. He turns back to his retiling friend and replies, "In about twenty minutes or so, Bent."

"Okay, just call me back up when it's time..." Bentley says before closing the basement door behind him.

Janet looks at the closed door and turns her attention back to Sly; she asks, "What's with him?"

Sly furrowed his brow while looking at the door. Sly sighs, "I'm getting an idea, Janet. But I'd rather not say..."

"Well, judging by his actions and tone to his voice...I'd say he has a broken heart." Janet remarked, going back into cooking.

Sly looks at Janet, watching her cook as he thinks about her words. They were true, and it even hurt Sly just by thinking about it. Looking back at the closed, basement door, Sly's ears fold back, and his brow furrows with concern. He'll have to find a way to make Bentley feel better about it; more than he already was in order to move on. Bentley was Sly's childhood best friend, his teammate, his...brother. Sly made a mental note to cheer Bentley up soon, but right now, they all had to get this crazy day of birthday done with.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Happy Birthday, dear Benjamin...Happy Birthday to you~!" Everyone sang before Ben blew away his candle that was shaped like the number eight. Everyone clapped and started to get the kids settled down. Carmelita got out a knife and starts to cut the cake and hands the first piece to Benjamin, who was sitting next to Bella and Gabriel.

"Happy Birthday, Ben." Bella says happily.

Ben beams a smile on his face. "Thank you," He replies.

While Ben and Bella was talking, Carmelita had placed her and Gabriel's cake slice in front of them. Gabriel, being a wild four-year-old when wanting to, literally starts to get a tad-bit messy with the cake. Serena notices this, and gets a stern look on her face.

"Gabriel Cooper!" She exclaims, going over to her now icing-covered son.

Conway turns his head from the conversation that he and his brother was having to see what was going on. After noticing that Gabriel was getting some icing all over him, he couldn't hold in his giggles, and let out a laugh. Serena, now holding Gabriel in her arms, glares at Conway slightly with her free arm at her hip, which always meant business. Conway sees his wife's facial expression, and stops.

"What? It's funny...and cute. Why would I not laugh at this?" Conway smirked.

Serena sighs. "I just got him cleaned up after getting dirt all over him from playing to roughly outside, Conway!" She remarks. "This is the ninth bath this week."

"Sorry, Mommy..." Gabriel says sadly, furrows his brow and slightly folding his ears back, as if he were begging.

"It's okay, Gabe...but once I'm done cleaning you up, I don't wanna see you outside for the rest of the day, okay?" She tells her son, going upstairs towards the bathroom.

Conway looks at Sly and shrugs as he gets up. "I should probably help her," He claims, heading upstairs as well.

Benjamin goes over to Sly and crawls onto his lap, giving him a begging look. "Can I open my presents now, Dad?" He pleaded. Sly only grinned and ruffled his hair in response.

"Soon, Ben...soon." He promised.

"How soon?" Ben eagerly asked, pouncing on his dad's lap.

Carmelita rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "C'mon now, Ben, let us finish the cake here. Trust me, in a few minutes you'll get to open your gifts, okay?"

Ben nods at his mother and slides off her lap. Running into his room upstairs, Bella and Jazz follows, giggling as they begin to play some more pirate acts. Sly kisses Carmelita and smirks at her, saying, "He's just excited, Carm. Aren't we all when its our birthdays?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She smiles, kissing him before throwing her plate away.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

By the time everyone had finished eating their cake slices, Benjamin got over excited, and raced downstairs, and into the living room. All the adults where gathered at the couches and chairs while the kids where on the ground, surrounding Benjamin. Before the excited foxcoon could get started on his gift wrapping, however, he was informed by his mother that she wanted photos. Ben hated it when his mother had to take pictures at the last minute of things, especially before things that he was excited for, but they had to get interrupted by his mother's constant picture snapping.

Carmelita took so many pictures of Benjamin that it was hard to keep count. There were single shots of just Ben and the other kids, ones of Ben with the boys, ones of Ben with the girls, ones of Ben with Bella alone (those got Ben and Bella blushing hard with anger at their parents), and several others of Ben with her, Sly, and pretty much the whole gang. It was like it was the last day on earth, and Carmelita had to capture every moment of it. Craziness, Ben would think; craziness.

"Moooom..." Ben groaned as he and Bella was posing for another boy/girl picture. "Can I open my presents now? Been waiting all day here..."

"Just a second, Benny." Carmelita retorted. "Aaannnnd...done! Yes, you may start, dear. But wait for me to-"

Before she could finish, Bella quickly grabbed the nearest present that she could find and toss it to Ben, who began to unwrap it rapidly. Carmelita groaned silently. "...Get camera mode back on." She finishes.

"It's from me and my mom," Bella explains as Ben reads the card that came with it. "Happy Birthday, Ben!"

"Thanks," Ben smiles at her, then goes back into reading the card.

_Happy Birthday to the world's Happiest Boy in the world! May your day be filled with sunshine, and not clouds._

_Happy Birthday!_

_- Bella Stone_

Ben places the card next to him and continues to open his first present. His eyes flash with amazement. It was a DVD collection of Pirates of the Caribbean. After thanking Bella and her mother, Ben puts the present on the other side of him. Carmelita didn't dare to miss another picture opportunity.

The second gift that Ben opened up was from Bentley, which was his own binocucom.

"Thank you, Uncle Bentley!" Ben exclaimed excitedly, as we rushes up to his uncle, and gives him a huge hug.

Bentley smiles and hugs him back. "No problem, Ben. You have mine, and the rest of the whole gang's contacts on that thing. You can have any of us teach you how to use it later, if you want."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ben grinned, going back to his seat.

The third present was from Murray and Janet, which were tickets to see a wrestling match in the City of Thieves; the strongest thieves in the world were gonna fight each other out. Murray had been asked many questions about wrestling; Ben had a strong curiosity. So, instead of showing him it on TV or online, Murray decided that it was best to show his nephew live, in person.

"Wow, awesome!" Ben exclaimed.

"What is it, Ben?" Conway asked from across the room, sitting on part of the couch that was in front of Sly and Carmelita, arm wrapped around Serena who was holding a sleeping Gabriel.

Ben walks up to this uncle to show him, which made him smirk. "Better look out there when I'm in the ring, kiddo!" He laughed. Sly and Carmelita looked at the tickets and their gaze loomed over towards Murray, who shrugged.

"I'd thought it'd be cool to take my nephew to a wrestling match." He explained.

"Well...okay then, Murray. Just make sure he doesn't get into any trouble. The City of Thieves can get pretty nasty, remember?" Sly reminded his friend.

Murray nods to Sly in response, followed by a quick peck on the check from Janet. Ben's fourth gift was from Dimitri, who'd gotten him some real pirate treasure maps that he was able to smuggle from Blood Bath Bay. After receiving them, he was over the top excited, followed by him hugging Dimitri for the longest period of time.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Ben constantly said with enthusiasm, hugging the lizard in such a tight grip.

"You're...welcome...little...dude..." Dimitri breathed out.

Once Ben was done hugging him, he races back to his spot on the ground to open the rest of his gifts. Everyone laughs at Dimitri for a moment while Ben studies his fifth gift. It was funny, because normally, Dimitri couldn't get too crushed in a hug, even by the small eight-year-old. For a kid his age, Ben seemed pretty strong. Sly assumed that it was probably from the small Cooper tricks that he'd shown and taught him over the years.

Conway and Serena was responsible for Ben's fifth present, which was Pirates of the Caribbean play set.

"Thank you, Uncle Conway and Aunt Serena!" Ben exclaimed happily, showing off his gift so that his mother could take some pictures.

"You're welcome, little buddy." Conway responded with a grin.

Carmelita walked over towards Ben with two boxes. Setting them both down, she explains, "Since Rebecca, Danny, and Conner couldn't make it here today, Ben, they sent out their own gifts. We'll be sure to get in contact with them later, okay?"

Ben nodded. "Okay," He replies, and starts to open the package from Rebecca and Danny.

Opening the package, he sees that it was a set of two different type of costumes. One was a pirate costume, and the other one was a burglar costume. Each costume came with a complete set of tools and accessories.

"Cool!" Ben exclaims, looking at his two gifts.

Going through his seventh present, which was from Conner. Inside, was a leather-bound book that held hand drawn maps, notes and other various inscriptions. But a note, clear as day was protruding from the inside cover.

_Ben,_

_You are old enough now to join the "family" business. Congratulations! I leave you with details of each of the criminals we've dealt with on our grand adventures, detailing their operations, and how to successfully steal from them. I know I will get an earful from the rest of the gang eventually, but these are our case files. Guard them well. You never know when they might make for a good reference._

_To Bentley: get these scanned into the database and have copies made and locked away. I have suspicions about the other crime families..._

_To Sly: You'll see the use of this one day. I know this for certain. Our past adventures will influence events you couldn't possibly foresee..._

Ben gave Sly the note. Sly's facial expression twitched slightly, then gave it to Bently. He nodded.

"That was very nice of Conner, Danny and rebecca to send these. We'll be sure to call them later and thank them." Sly said, sitting back down.

"Now Ben," Carmelita gets out another box and walks over to the boy. "This one's from me and Daddy. Hope you like it!"

Ben looked at the box closely, wondering what it was. It was a decent size no doubt, and it also seemed to be another package of some sorts. Opening it, Ben gasps with awe, and a grin forms on his face. Quickly, he rips the wrapping paper open, and reveals a PlayStation 4!

"AWESOME!" Ben exclaimed excitedly.

He runs up and climbs onto his parents' lap, hugging both of them. Sly and Carmelita smiles as they hug him back, nuzzling him with gentle hugs and kisses.

"You're very welcome," Sly smiled. "However, Ben...there's still one more present that I'll like to give you. Something that I'm sure you'll love."

"What is it, Daddy?" Ben asked, getting eager.

Sly chuckled. "Be right back," He says as he leaves the room.

Sly returns with the Thievius Raccoonus in his arms; he takes a seat and pats his lap, telling Ben, in his own action, to get on it. Ben climbs onto his father's lap and shows off a huge grin, showing excitement. Sly smiled with fatherly pride; he couldn't believe that this day had finally came.

"Benjamin Slyvester Cooper..." Sly began. "As you may know, this book comes down from our family line. It was passed down from generation from generation from each of our ancestors. You see, Ben...its a tradition that when each Cooper turns eight, they inherit this book..."

Ben's eyes grow wide, he begins to bounce on his dad's lap with joy.

"And since I was given this book when I was your age, just like your ancestors, I believe that its time that you are given our family's book." Sly finishes, handing Ben the book.

Ben grasps the heavy book in his small hands. It was finally his turn to learn and become the master thief that he was destined to be. Without any warning, he jumps up and kisses his father's check, followed by him hugging Sly around the neck, burying his head into his chest.

"Thank you, Daddy! I won't let you down; honest!" Ben muffled into Sly's chest.

Sly ruffles his head hair and places a soft kiss on his forehead. "I know you'll make me proud, Ben." He smiled.

"I know you will."

* * *

**Well, here's chapter one! :)**

**I'm so pumped into getting this sequel finished! I've written down EVERYTHING that I'm doing, and I've got it all ready to be written and put up for all of you lovely people to see! lol XD**

**Be sure to check out the next chapter, guys! :)**

**See ya later,**

**~Nixter97~**


	2. City of Thieves

**Chapter 2: City of Thieves**

After a long and exciting day for the whole gang, it was time to go to bed. Rachel and Bella had said their goodbyes a while ago, and left, leaving the Cooper Gang to clean up the place. While half of the adults were cleaning up the house of party decorations, the parents were getting their kids ready for bed. After bathed, teethes brushed, and pajamas on, each child was put to sleep in their own beds. Well, almost all of them, not Benjamin at the very least.

Sitting on his father's lap, Ben was looking through the Thievious Raccoonus, continuing to show his great interest in the Cooper lore. Sly was glade to see that his son, after reading most of this book several times, was still eager to learn more about it, by keeping it as his very own. Ben even stumbled across his father's section in the book, showing how Sly developed the ice climbing technique, with only two smaller versions of his cane, up in Canada.

"Did you really invent that, Dad?" Ben asked in amazement.

Sly nodded. "Yep, Benny-Boy, I did. And now that this book is yours, you'll have to invent a technique for the future Coopers to learn."

"I can do that in no time!" Ben beamed boldly.

Sly only chuckled and closed the Thievious Raccoonus; he puts it on top of his son's dresser and places the small foxcoon underneath the covers.

"You'll have plenty of time to worry about that, Ben. Plenty of time. But for now, I'd like to take you somewhere tomorrow,"

"Where?" Ben asked.

"The City of Thieves," Sly answered. "Ben, now that you have our family's book, I, as a father, need to teach you about our family ways of thievery; training you, to be exact."

Ben's ears fold back slightly. "But I thought you said that place was nasty, Dad..."

"It is," Sly says, but smiles as he pulls his son into his lap, giving him a little nuggie. "But your big, and strong Daddy will be there to beat up any bad guys who might try to nab you!"

Benjamin laughed out loud by his father's playful attack. Soon, Sly stops, and puts him back underneath the covers. He kisses Ben on the forehead before turning off his lamp on his nightstand. Before Sly leaves the room, he stops at the doorway, and turns around to see his son already falling asleep under the warm covers. Sly smiled at the sight, and exits the room with the clicking sound of the door closing.

Sly sighs happily as he goes down the hallway, listening to Conway and Serena putting Gabriel to sleep. Eventually, Sly enters Jazz's room, where she was being tucked in by a certain Miss Carmelita Montoya Cooper.

"Hi Daddy," Jazz yawned, before closing her eyes and falling asleep. "Night Daddy," She whispered before heading for a deep sleep.

Carmelita kisses her daughter's forehead, followed by Sly to walk over and kiss his daughter goodnight. The raccoon looks at his vixen bride and kisses her cheek. "Shall we check on the four little trouble makers before getting some sleep ourselves?" She grinned.

"Mhm," She replied, going down the hall, her auburn tail whipped as her hips swan while she walked, which Sly found to be sexy.

Entering the mansion's nursery, both Sly and Carmelita goes through each of the four cribs that held their sleeping infants. Jennissy was already fast asleep, having her small stomach rise and fall peacefully as she took slow deep breathes. Carmen was the same too, except she squirmed around slightly, making small grunts. Sly kissed her on the forehead, and made sure that her blanket was securely wrapped around her tiny frame. Carmen was out like that in seconds, taking small breathes in her sleep.

Now looking over the boys, Josh wasn't having any trouble falling asleep. Much like Jasmine, Josh was a heavy sleeper. However, Cody wasn't asleep at all. He was lying down in his crib, babbling away. As Sly looks down at Cody, he smirked.

"Carm, it would seem that a certain, little Cooper isn't asleep," He observed.

Carmelita walks up to his side and looks down at little Cody, who continues to babble. She picks him up and cradles him in her arms, grinning a motherly smile on her facial features.

"Can't get to sleep, baby?" She cooed.

Cody sighs and rested his head on his mother's shoulder, still babbling. Sly smirks at his son and kisses his little head.

"Its that time of the week again," He chuckled.

Carmelita smirks at her husband and strolls out of the room, heading to their own. Cody looks at his father from his mother's shoulder, and reaches his tiny hand out towards him while babbling, looking as if he were saying Hi! or Goodbye!. Sly follows his wife back to their room after double-checking on the rest of the kits. Cody was different from the other infants (not that it was a bad thing); he never sleeps about once a week. So, in order to get him to fall asleep, Sly and Carmelita have Cody sleep with them in their own room. It was only a once a week thing, so their was no problem with doing that.

Sly enters their room, and closes their bedroom door. Turning around, he sees Carmelita gently placing Cody in the middle of the bed as she gets under the covers. Sly follows her actions and slides in; Cody was in the middle of both his vixen mother and raccoon father. Sly wraps his arm around Carmelita, pulling her close as he held both her and his infant son.

"Goodnight, Ringtail." Carmelita mutters sweetly.

"Goodnight, Carm." He smiles. He looks down at Cody, kissing his forehead, and says, "And goodnight to you too," He says, before falling asleep.

* * *

_**~The Next Day...~**_

Sly groans as he opens his eyes, seeing that he was the only one in the bed. He grew concern, but once he smells breakfast being cooked downstairs, the troubling thoughts swept away from his mind. Sitting up, Sly stretches his arms until he hears a satisfying pop; he gets out of bed, gets his robe on, and trails downstairs. Looking to his left while going down the left side of the huge staircase was the living room, where Conway and Serena was watching over Benjamin and Gabriel as they played on the floor. In front of the TV was Jasmine, watching some Saturday morning cartoons. The infants were playing in the playpen, where Jasmine and Josh were the only two that were still asleep in.

"Good morning, Sly." Conway says as he looks up and notices him.

Sly grins; replying, "Good morning, Conway, Serena-"

"And me! Morning, Daddy!" Ben exclaims, rushing over to him.

Sly bends down and picks his son up, kissing his forehead as the small boy buries his body close to his, snuggling up to his father.

"Good morning to you too, Ben." Sly smiles before putting him down.

Walking into the kitchen, Carmelita and Janet are finishing up breakfast as they place the food onto the table. The rest of the gang follows, taking their seats.

"As the others been fed, Carm?" Sly asked, his gaze motioning to the playpen in the living room.

"Mhm," Carmelita replied. "Serena, Conway, and Janet helped me feed them before we started breakfast."

Breakfast was scrabbled eggs with bacon mixed inside of it. It was a divine dish that Carmelita makes; its rarely made most of the time, so that explained its popularity in the household.

During breakfast, everyone started to talk about what it is that they've got planned for the day; Carmelita and Serena were going to have a girls day out (in disguises, of course), Murray and Janet were going to help Bentley put some more machinery together in the lab down in the basement, so that left Conway and Dimitri looking over the children for the day.

Benjamin was overly excited about going to the City of Thieves and be trained by his father today; it was something that he dreamt about all night. Learning the Cooper skills, becoming a master thief, and trying to out-wit his old man to see if he could be better.

"You excited, buddy?" Sly asked; a mere chuckle escape his lips as he notices how excited the boy was. Ben was practically bouncing in his seat, rarely touching his food.

"Yep!" Ben exclaimed.

Carmelita gives her son a playful smirk. "I know that you're excited, Benny, but could you at least eat some more? You'll need your energy if you want Daddy to teach you the skills of a Cooper."

"She's right, you know." Sly grinned.

Ben nodded and started to eat his breakfast a bit more, finishing it all up in a manner of minutes.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Ben buckled himself in the car as soon as his father unlocked the vehicle. Kissing his wife goodbye, Sly holds the car keys, his Cooper cane, and the Thievious Raccoonus firmly in his arms. He opens the passenger seat, and places his cane and the book on the seat next to him, and walks around to the other side to start the engine.

"Ready, buddy?" Sly asked, turning his head and smiles at Ben.

"Yeah!" Ben exclaimed excitedly.

"Be careful, you two!" Carmelita calls at them as they drive away.

Bentley came rolling out, "Carmelita, can we talk? It's important." The sound in his voice made the question urgent. Carmelita looked at Bentley, "Sure, Bentley, What is it?"

* * *

_**~The City of Thieves- Paris~**_

It was a bit of a drive, but they made it to the passage way to the underground city that was for the thieves all over the world.

"Here we are!" Sly sung proudly, stopping the car.

"Oh boy!" Ben exclaimed looking out his window with a huge smile. His smile soon faded away once he realized that they stopped in front of a large, stoned wall, which was underneath one of the many bridges that lead to the Eiffel Tower.

Sly steps out of the car and lets Ben out. Ben looked so confused as to why they parked under a bridge, in front of a stoned wall. Sly walks up to Ben's side, kneeling down so that he can put the Thievious Raccoonus and his car keys in his red backpack. Slipping it back onto his back, Sly grips his Cooper cane in hand. He looks down at Ben with a smile; Ben looks up at him a frowns.

"Is this some kind of joke, Dad?" Ben asked; his brow furrowed with disappointment.

Sly gave out a warm chuckle as he replied. "No, not at all, Ben. I may like to joke around, but to joke about the City of Thieves is the last thing that I'd joke about," He claims walking over towards the wall.

"But its just a wall under a bridge, Dad!" Ben says as he catches up with him.

"I know," Sly grinned. "Tell me, Ben...why do you think that this city is so secretive?" He gave his son a wink as they stop in front of the wall.

Ben gasps and turns to his father.

"I get it! You mean-?"

"Yes," Sly interrupted. "Benny-Boy...we must first get past this wall."

Before Ben could ask how, a small slot opens, revealing an eye-looking camera to pop out and scan Sly.

"Identification, please." Asked the eye.

Sly takes out a small handbook and opens it, showing it to the camera. The eye camera observes it, and then nods in approval.

"Welcome back, Mister Cooper," The eye camera's vision sees Ben, and looks down at the foxcoon. The eye camera literally zooms out of the wall, and gets a closer look at Ben, which made him flinch a little.

"And who is this?" Asked the eye camera.

"That's my son, Benjamin Cooper. I made sure that the council was given approval, so don't worry, he's allowed." Sly stated.

After getting a long look at Ben, the eye camera zooms back onto the wall, and nods back at Sly.

"Alrighty then, Mister Cooper, just give us a few seconds, and the door shall open. Please hold onto something when entering the elevator, be sure to have your ID looked at when entering and exiting the city, and be sure to have a good day." Says the eye camera, before going back into the wall, the slot closing finally.

Ben blinked with confusion and looks up at Sly.

"Well, that was weird..." Ben says.

Sly laughed. "You don't know the half of it," Sly states.

Just then, a door-like shape opens up within the wall, revealing an elevator.

"Well, in we go!" Sly sung, scoping Ben up in his arms and enters, grabbing onto a railing as the door closes. "You may wanna hang on to me tightly, son." Sly says.

"...Why?" Ben asked nervously.

Just then, the elevator drops in a fast pace, causing Ben to squeal in fright as he clutches onto his father tightly, burying himself into his father's chest, shaking with fear as he continues to scream. Just then, the elevator reaches a more calm, and soothing pace. Ben flutters his eyes open, and once he sees the light, his eyes widen.

"...Woooow..." He breaths.

"You said it," Sly grinned.

The elevator was still moving, this time horizontally, over the gigantic underground city that Ben was hearing so much about. He couldn't believe that he was finally here.

The City of Thieves.

The walls were crimson green, the high towers were magnificent, and all the people were wonderful-looking. An elevator catches up with Sly and Ben's on their left side. Ben peaks his head up to see who was on the other elevator, revealing a female mongoose on her cell phone. She turns to see Ben, noticing his shyness. Smiling, the female mongoose waves, and her elevator turns left in a rapid pace, going downward.

Suddenly, their elevator shaft turns right in a rapid pace, going downward. Ben screamed again as he clutches onto his father tightly. Sly grins and shakes his head. He had a lot to teach him about this underground city and all of the surprises that lurk around every corner.

Eventually, the elevator shaft stops at what looked like a line to get on a farriers wheel ride, and the doors open. Sly exits with Ben still in his arms, along with the Cooper cane. They go through some gates, followed by Sly getting his ID check at, and soon enough, they were officially in the City of Thieves. Ben's eyes were wide with awe, along with his mouth hung open; agape by the sights.

"Wooow...this place if big," Ben remarked.

"Mhm, it sure is, Ben." Sly replied.

Sly continued to walk down streets while holding Ben in his arms. Ben looked around his surroundings. For the majority of this visit, every thief in sight seemed very warm-hearted, and greeted one another. Ben didn't understand why this place would seem so slick and devilish as how his father had put it.

"I thought you said this place was dangerous," Ben observed.

Sly's eyes perked up and looks at his son while continuing to walk though the city.

"It can be, Ben. We're in the safe zone; underneath this part of the city is where things can get rather dangerous. Our leader wanted the good and the bad to be separated, so had another city, for the bad, built underneath the city that we're in now."

"Our leader?" Ben questioned, cocking an eyebrow up with confusion.

Sly nodded. He then sees a big statue of a centipede as they walk upon a time square-like area. Sly points towards the statue of the large centipede.

"See that statue, Ben?"

Ben nods in response.

"The one with the centipede guy?" Ben asked, looking rather disturbed by the fact that the statue was rather big, wondering if the real deal was just as tall. He's always hated bugs, and this was a nightmare becoming a reality.

"Yes," Sly says. "That's the statue of our leader. His name is President Haze; president of the City of Thieves and the leader of the council."

"I don't like the look of him..." Ben whimpered out.

Sly looks at Ben; he says, "Yeah, I'm not very fond of him either, Ben. He a mysterious guy, I'll give you that. But we should still respect him. After all, without Haze, us thieves would have no place to go for sanctuary,"

Ben nods his head at this father's words. Once they walk past square, Ben looks at his father once more and asks, "What are we doing, Dad?"

"Well," Sly began. "First, I need to get a permit for a privet training room. After that, I suppose some lunch will do before we start training; okay, buddy?"

Ben nods his head with excitement.

"Okay, Daddy!" He beamed.

Ben just couldn't wait to start learning about what it meant to be a true Cooper. But if there was one thing that worried him a little was that President Haze guy; he seemed mysterious, as his father put it. That statue didn't give Ben a good first impression of the guy. And if Haze was wondering around this city, only Ben hoped to not make his acquaintance.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

After walking for what seemed like forever, Sly finally makes it down a long hallway, and stops in front of a tall desk that had a female lizard working. The long and wide hall that was behind Sly and Ben had pillars supporting a roof and doors against the walls. Stairs, five levels, went from the shiny floor to the upper part of the hall that had the doors and another walking space. Behind the desk that Sly and Ben were at was a huge gap; it was a large bowl-like structure with a few water falls that went toward all the way down. There was no denying that there was a river down there. It was also where the bad area of the city was. The huge bowl-like gap caused a circle around the entire area. Four other hallways were structured, followed by many other office doors. A large, pillar was built straight up, and on the very top of the pillar, over the whole center of the city, was Thief Tower, which was also where President Haze's office was.

The female lizard looks down from her desk, seeing Sly and Ben.

"Can I help you?" She asked in a nasally voice.

"Yes," Sly began, lifting up his arm towards her, with his ID passport in hand. "I'd like to-"

Just as the female lizard takes the ID passport in her hand, another hand snatches it away. It was a creepy, clawed hand, and the figure who possessed the hand was looming over the female lizard. The figure takes a closer look at the ID, studying it.

"Mister Cooper," Says the figure in a low, mysterious rumble. The figure lowers the ID passport from its face, revealing to be President Haze himself. "How are we on this find day?"

Ben whimpers and cuddles closer to his father, burying his small form into his father's chest, scared at the sight of the rather large insect. Sly was lost for words for words; President Haze just popped out of nowhere. It all seemed like a blur, or perhaps time seemed like it stopped for a moment for Haze to arrive at this particular location just in time. Or maybe it was the fact that President Haze had some sort of surprisingly fast speed. Who Knew? Sly didn't.

"F-Fine, President Haze," Sly finally manages to say. "I'm doing fine, thank you."

"The pleasure is all mine," Haze says in reply.

Ben looks up slowly, getting a peek at the large insect. Just then, at that moment, President Haze walks down from the rather tall desk; his multiple legs echoed as each hit the floor. Ben saw the many, scary legs, and whimpers silently. This guy was truly creepy. But unlike Ben, Sly was use to the sound. The master thief himself battled the Contessa in Prague; he was use to giant, creepy insects (or arachnids), like President Haze.

Sly watches President Haze as he makes his way to their ground level, and looms over the raccoon. He then hands Sly his ID passport, which Sly takes and puts it back into his leg pouch.

"So what brings you to our great city on this...fine day, Mister Cooper?" Haze asked in his mysteriously-toned voice.

Sly bounces Ben slightly in his arms, showing off a proud grin.

"I'm here with my little guy today, President Haze. Young Benny here is ready to become a true Cooper, sir."

"Ah, how delightful!" President Haze exclaims with the flick of his tongue. He leans down to get a better look at Ben. "Its a pleasure to make your aquatints, young Benjamin."

Ben looks up and sees the monstrous creature in front of him, and gasps faintly in fear, and buries himself back into his father's chest. President Haze chuckles darkly, lifting his head back up. Both father and son looks up at the huge centipede.

"Oh, how I do love baring fear into others. It shows my power," President Haze gives out a grin at Sly before turning around. "Come, Cooper, and tell me why you and your offspring are here."

"Well, since its time for him to become a true Cooper, I thought it'll be best for me to train him." Sly explains.

President Haze stops dead in his tracks and turns toward Sly, who managed to catch up with him as they walked. President Haze lifts up an eyebrow.

"You wish to rent a privet training room, Cooper?" President Haze shakes his head before adding, "Why not just have one of our training instructors to coach the little one?"

"Because he's a Cooper, Mister President. And since his time has come, only a master Cooper needs to train him. He needs the proper training- to be trained right. Like a Cooper." Sly remarks.

President Haze sighs and looks forward as he proceeds to walk. Sly catches up with him; Ben was still being held, too afraid to be left down, with this guy roaming the place.

"Very well, Mister Cooper, I can get you your key to a privet room. Follow me, if you'll be so kind..." He says as he makes his way down a large, spiraling staircase. Sly proceeds into following President Haze; Ben still wasn't very sure if he liked Haze at all.

As they reach the bottom of the staircase, there was a platform; the trio gets on the platform, and once they doo, they rise high into the air, until they were nearly against the ceiling of the tower. The platform then moves out of the tower, now going across the entire city. Ben gazes down at how high up they were. He was amazed.

"Awed abut our city, young Cooper?" Came Haze's voice from behind Sly and Ben.

Sly turns around so that Ben can answer his question. Ben nods his head nervously. "Yes," He claims.

A smile forms on President Haze's face.

"Well then...why don't I tell you about our city before we make our stop, shall I?"

"Okay," Ben replied.

President Haze began; he says, "Back in time...in Ancient Egypt, where great pharos were being stolen by a particular thief..." He looks over at Sly, who grins mischievously. President Haze continued. "A city underground was being constructed secretly, deep inside the pyramids. The city was to be titled, The City of Thieves, and was to only be for thieves only. Your ancestor Ben, from what I've recalled, had the idea of starting the city in the first place. He even ruled over all thieves back then,"

"Wow..." Ben says with a grin.

"Indeed," Sly agreed.

"That's how our city started, young Benjamin, but let me tell you some facts that you might like to know about our great city..." President Haze clears his throat before continuing on. "The city is built up of two levels. The upper level, where we are, is for those who are good. The lower level, underneath the upper city, is for those thieves who are bad. We've separated each other of the good and the bad so that we can avoid any further incidents."

"Actually," Ben interrupted. "Dad already told me that already..."

President Haze looks over at Sly, who nods. He sighs and fixes up his tie.

"Very well," He says. "How about this then: this city is very sacred, as you may recall, Benjamin. We mustn't reveal this city to anyone who isn't a thief,"

"How come?" Ben asked, tilting his head with curiosity.

President Haze frowns at him.

"Because, young Cooper, those who do that would be breaking our laws to help keep our city safe from cops. This city is the only place of sanctuary that we thieves have left in this world, and we can't risk the chances of us being taken away and our city destroyed. And besides, the last poor soul who tried to do that, expose us, of course, was executed at once by yours truly."

Sly and Ben's eyes widen with shock. He killed a fellow thief? How could he? Sure, it might've been the rules, but was execution really that necessary?

"Was that really necessary, President Haze? To execute the poor guy?" Sly asked.

"I don't see why not," President Haze declared. "Anyone who acts upon treason like that needs to be punished somehow, Mister Cooper. But in other words...yes...it was necessary."

For the rest of the trip, no one said a word. Ben looked up at his father uneasily. Sly shared the same expression; President Haze had just informed them that he personally executed a thief for nearly exposing their city to the outside world. If that wasn't scary enough, they didn't know what was. Was it possible that President Haze was just a psychopath? It couldn't be. And it wasn't. He was merely doing what he thought was right. But was execution really the right thing to do?

"And don't seem so uneasy about it, Coopers," President Haze says, tilting his head to the left slightly. "It was an act of treason. You should know the punishment for an act like that, Mister Cooper. He turns his head back straight, looking down at his city as the platform continues on.

Ben and Sly exchange nervous glances. It was possible that President Haze was nothing like he seemed. Even if it was an act of treason, he seemed rather found of it by the tone of his voice. Sly made a mental note to try to avoid Haze at all coast once they get off this moving platform.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Ah, here we are!" President Haze says as the platform comes to a complete stop.

Sly and Ben get off the platform and turns to President Haze, who gives them a smile that made Ben's spine to nearly freeze.

"Have a good rest of the day, Coopers." Haze says before leaving them.

Ben looks up at Sly and says, "I don't think I like him very much, Daddy."

"I know, Ben..." Sly sighs. "I'm not so sure about him that much either."

As they continue to walk away from the parking station, Ben asks, "So, what are gonna do now?"

"Well, first off, I'd like to get us some lunch. After that, then we'll go to the training center, alright, Benny-my boy?" Sly replied with a grin.

Ben smiled and nods his head rapidly with a large smile.

"Okay!" He cheers.

Sly chuckles and proceeds to walk through the city while holding his son, who was babbling away about how cool the city seemed. Even though that little run-in with President Haze sort of spooked him, Ben was certain that the rest of the day here in the city with his old man would be fantastic. He was just too eager to get lunch out of the way, so that he can start training to become the one master thief that he knows he'll one day become.

* * *

**Done with this chapter, folks!**

**Question: Do you think President Haze is a little on the unstable side? Please tell me in your review. ;)**

**And what was Bentley wanting to talk to Carmelita about?**

**The next chapter will be Sly and Ben in the training room. Just to let you all know, I may not be that good doing a whole chapter centered around one topic, so you all have to bare with me, okay?**

**Anyway, please stay tuned for more in the mere future! :)**

**Signing off for now,**

**~Nixter97~**


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